Thin Red Line
by KratistosX987
Summary: Six months after the opening of Vault 76, many of the Vault Dwellers are dead, unable to survive in the inhospitable lands of Appalachia. Many of them have succumbed to the Scorched Plague. The Overseer is missing. The new Responders have been wiped out and the Scorched are merciless in their onslaught... To survive, they need the thin red line. They need the Fire Breathers.
1. Thin Red Line

**Disclaimer:** This story is written using the setting and the characters of Bethesada's Fallout franchise, and as such, they all belong to Bethesada. Original characters, fictional locations, and such are all entirely made up and any resemblance to other people/places is purely coincidental. If you find a reason to sue me, proceed. Just be warned, I'm virtually penniless and have a cute little puppy that relies on me for food and a warm place to sleep. A puppy, people. Don't be cruel.

 **Chapter 1 - Thin Red Line**

 **A Story set in Fallout 76**

* * *

" _We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it not as dreadful as it appears, discovering that we have the strength to stare it down."_

 _Eleanor Roosevelt, American First Lady and Activist_

" _We are defenders from fires of the art which has beautified the world, the product of the genius of men and the means of refinement of mankind. Above all, our proudest endeavour is to save the lives of men, the works of God himself. Under the impulse of such thoughts, the nobility of the occupation thrills us and stimulates us to deeds of daring, even of supreme sacrifice."_

 _Chief Edward F. Croker, American Firefighter_

" _The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example."_

 _Benjamin Disraeli, British Prime Minister_

* * *

"Remember us."

Those had been Maria Chavez's final words. As simple a request as any. And so we did, those of us that left Vault 76. Mankind's brightest. Humanity's best. We followed our Overseer into this... this wasteland. We didn't know what to expect but we knew our job. We knew what was expected of us. We knew Vault Tec's plan for us.

Rebuild America. Ensure humanity's continued existence in the aftermath of atomic war.

And so, we followed the Overseer in her decision. We remembered the Responders. We learned from the Responders. In time, we took on the mantle of the Responders... At least, some of us did. The rest of us went down different paths. Walked different roads.

Some tried establishing a new government in what was left of Charleston. Salvage what was left of the old world. Others talked about rebuilding this Brotherhood of Steel. A new order for a new world.

And we continued our good works.

Flatwoods. Morgantown. Sutton and Helvetia. Grafton. Point Pleasant. North Charleston. Camp Adams. We reclaimed them, built upon what the Responders had built, fought against the mutants and the ferals and the monsters. Against the Scorched.

Now... Too many of us are dead. Scattered. No match for the Scorchbeasts. Just too many of them, blackening the skies. Raining death and destruction down on us.

Most of us escaped, though. Made for different parts. One thing for sure, though... The idea of the Responders? That idea's dead again. As dead as the old Responders and some of the new ones.

We were missing something from the start. An edge. We needed one against the Scorched and their beasts. We had eventually found one, but it was too late.

The Fire Breathers were all dead.

They all died at Big Bend. They sacrificed their lives trying to destroy the biggest nest of the Scorched ever. And they were wiped out, not knowing their sacrifice was in vain. Not knowing there'd be no one left to remember them.

Anthony groaned as he climbed up over the ridge, his body screaming in exhaustion after that long trek from Morgantown, fighting through so many Scorched, battling against them on the streets of Charleston. He looked behind him then, quickly counting heads to see how many were still with him, how many had died since then.

Forty seven of them.

Which meant, he realized, that thirty three of them had died in the long, grueling journey. Anthony sighed. The situation was getting worse by the second. Thirty three dead. Supplies and ammunition both were running low. The Overseer was missing.

Vault Tec had saved the best and the brightest for this task, and yet it seemed as if this twisted version of Appalachia was winning the war.

Anthony pulled up another Vault Dweller, a good man by the name of Henry Reinhardt, though most just called him Harry. "You all right?"

"Yeah," Harry grunted as he got pulled up onto the ridge. "At least, for now. We're getting close too, so that helps." He gestured just down the road. "Their headquarters used to be over there."

Anthony nodded. Once Harry and he helped the rest of their party climb over the ridge and they had rested for half a hour, the group of survivors continued their long journey, eager to get it over with now that they were on the last leg of it all.

It was still hazardous, though. Even this far south, the Scorched continued to throw themselves at the survivors. But thankfully, many of them were armed. A necessity, they had quickly learned, in this post-Great War world. For the most part, the majority of them carried 10mm Pistols and Hunting Rifles, while Pump Action Shotguns and Laser Rifles were less common among their numbers, and a rare few had managed to get their hands on the likes of Combat Rifles and one had even somehow picked up a Plasma Rifle.

In the end, they made it to the Charleston Fire Department, minus another two survivors who had died in the last Scorched attack.

Quickly, the rest of the survivors made their way into the huge building. Some found chairs to sit on, others crumbled onto sofas and beds, and the rest collapsed onto the floor, just glad to finally be able to rest.

It didn't take long before Anthony, Harry, and a few others had gotten started on securing all of the doors and windows, as well as sealing off any breaches in the building itself. Within an hour, a preliminary crew of guards had been assembled and assigned to posts. Within six hours, inventory was being taken, cleaning up in process, and repairs being made. Thankfully, there was enough food supplies in the Fire Department to last them for a bit, and the water wasn't too bad once it had been boiled enough with some Rad-X in it, a little trick Helena Sanchez had learned. The Protectrons were more than helpful in assisting the survivors, thankfully. Though they were quite insistent on everyone taking the exam.

By the third day, everyone had recovered enough to start discussing what to do from there on. Some had said they should just push on and make for different parts of Appalachia. Others suggested joining up with other survivors, maybe the New Appalachian Militia that had been formed in Harpers Ferry, or the new Brotherhood of Steel.

Others had even argued simply leaving Appalachia altogether. But most of them knew it was futile. If the Scorched weren't stopped here... There would be no safe place in all the world to hide from them.

More importantly, they did still have control of the three Nuke Silos, and the Overseer had confided in some of them that there existed an automated factory within each one of them, producing new nukes.

That, they knew, would be their ultimate weapon against the Scorched Plague.

The question was how to make best use of that weapon, for nukes alone would not win them this war. If anything, to use yet more nukes would almost certainly be a mistake, or destroy them all.

They had to be the last resort.

And so Anthony walked into the large room then, flanked by Harry and another fellow by the name of Adam Campbell, someone who had been one of the first to join the Overseer in stepping out into Appalachia and had stayed by her side most of the time. Once she had decided to rebuild the Responders, Adam had been her staunchest supporter and had put all of his time and energy into training and building up their defense force, a given since he had been the Vault's security chief.

"Settle down, everyone!" Anthony rang out, calling for everyone to give him a chance to speak.

"Many of you know me. But for those of you who joined up with us since Morgantown... My name's Anthony J. Barrett." He looked around at as many of them as he could, going from eyes to eyes, letting everyone see him. "Listen... I know it's been hard. It's been hard ever since we left Vault 76. These last six months... They were rough. Salvaging what was left of Appalachia, picking up things where the Responders and others left them. We've suffered setbacks, plenty of them."

"But..." He nodded then, "We've made some advances too. We've got the innoculation for the Scorched Plague. It's not perfect, but it's given us a fighting chance against those fuckers. And some of our own are still there, working on improving it further. We're not alone either. There are others, and they're still fighting... Harpers Ferry, Fort Defiance, Pleasant Valley... We may be scattered but we ain't beaten yet! Far from it."

He began moving through the crowd then, seeing some of them nodding along to what he was saying, seeing the hope on their faces. "We still know where all of our caches are, the weapon stockpiles and supply depots. We get our shit together, we're going to be able to fight back. And this time, we're gonna win!"

Cheers answered him then, most of the survivors up on their feet now. Anthony gestured for them to settle down once more. "The Responders died because we weren't ready. Because we didn't know about the Scorchbeasts... And because we didn't know how to fight them. Well... I'm proposing we find a way to fight them and kill them and fucking end them forever! And that's why right here, right now... I'm going to rebuild the Fire Breathers!"

He held up his hand, catching something Harry had just tossed at him, and held it up high. A Fire Axe. "These men and women, they fought for the Responders and they died, all of them, at Big Bend. Responders stood no chance without them. But if we're going to have a chance at reclaiming Appalachia, at ending the Scorched Plague... We need to continue what they started. We need to finish the job they left unfinished."

"This facility is secure. We've got enough supplies for a while. The Protectrons are helping us... but not enough. We rebuild the Fire Breathers here, take on their mantle, and we'll have a hell of a chance here. Who's with me!?"

Many of them cheered again. "Good! We're gonna take their fucking exam, and we're gonna ace it! We'll learn how the Fire Breathers lived and we'll learn how they fought the Scorched, and we'll do more than that... We're going to finish their job for them!"

And for the first time in a long while... the Fire Breathers were alive once more.

Anthony held the axe in both of his hands then, looking down at it, at this symbol of the Fire Breathers. He had been just a security guard back in the Vault, always more than willing to obey whatever orders Security Chief Campbell or the Overseer gave him... But things were different now.

Something had to be done. Campbell was a broken man who was just beginning to put himself together. The Overseer was still missing. And there were just too many men and women depending on him to look after them, to lead them.

So he would give them structure. He would give them hope. He would give them a mission. "All right. Listen up! Those of you with technical skills, check in with Harry Reinhardt. Those of you with medical skills, talk to Kathryn Price. Those of you with scientific skills, find Jack Foster. And those of you who are ready and willing to put your lives on the line, to fight the Scorched with axe and gun, tooth and nail... Let's take that fucking exam!"

With the efficiency born of living in a Vault for twenty five years, everyone focused on carrying out their orders then, long accustomed to authority. The men and women Anthony had mentioned had already been given their orders, having agreed with the man before his speech on what had to be done.

Until the Overseer could be found, until the Scorched Plague was eradicated, until things returned to an acceptable level of... normalcy... Anthony J. Barrett would hold down the fort and defend the remaining survivors of Vault 76.

And together with his new Fire Breathers, they would be the thin red line that held back the tide of destruction.

* * *

 **Current Population - 46 Survivors**

* * *

 **Author's Note:** _So, instead of an update for **BRAVE NEW WORLD** this week, I decided to post the first chapter of a new story set in Fallout 76, something I've been playing and enjoying since last week. Don't worry, my first story will remain a priority and will be receiving a new chapter soon! I just couldn't resist doing a story for Fallout 76, especially since I haven't seen any uploaded yet! **THIN RED LINE** won't be posted as regularly as **BRAVE NEW WORLD** but there should be at least one or two updates a month, especially since I'm still making my way through the storyline._

 _And obviously, whatever happens in **THIN RED LINE** will eventually be a part of **BRAVE NEW WORLD** down the road. :)_

 _Hope you enjoy this story!_


	2. Buffer Zone

**Disclaimer:** This story is written using the setting and the characters of Bethesada's Fallout franchise, and as such, they all belong to Bethesada. Original characters, fictional locations, and such are all entirely made up and any resemblance to other people/places is purely coincidental. If you find a reason to sue me, proceed. Just be warned, I'm virtually penniless and have a cute little puppy that relies on me for food and a warm place to sleep. A puppy, people. Don't be cruel.

 **Chapter Two - Buffer Zone**

 **A Story set in Fallout 76**

* * *

" _Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord, thy God, is with you wherever you go."_

 _Joshua 1:9, the Holy Bible_

" _When I am called to duty, God, wherever flames may rage, give me the strength to save a life, whatever be its age. Help me embrace a little child before it is too late, or save an older person from the horror of that fate. Enable me to be alert and hear the weakest shout, quickly and efficiently to put the fire out. I want to fill my calling, to give the best in me, to guard my friend and neighbor, and to protect his property. And if according to Your will, I must answer Death's call, bless with your protecting hand, my family one and all."_

 _The Firefighter's Prayer_

" _Opportunity is a haughty goddess who wastes no time with those who are unprepared."_

 _George S. Clason, American Author_

* * *

Two weeks since that day when the forty-six survivors made their home at Charleston Fire Department, recuperated after the long flight from Morgantown, and subsequently decided to reform the Fire Breathers.

The Fire Breathers. The elite division of the Responders, the original Responders that had fallen to the Scorched Plague. Those brave men and women who had given it their all Who had died after spilling sweat and blood, paying the highest of costs. Their sacrifice, the survivors had agreed, would not be in vain. They would finish what the Fire Breathers began, they swore, and honor them by putting an end to the Scorched Plague and the Scorchbeasts that had ravaged and hunted the residents of Vault 76.

The new Responders were scattered as well, the idea behind that name dead once more. But not for long, if they had their way. And they were damn well going to have it their way.

With Anthony and a few others away down south, taking the final exam for the Fire Breathers, it had fallen on Harry to hold down the fort and maintain order as well as direct the rebuilding. There was just so much to do, so much to get through. Even though he had been given the rank of Lieutenant, Harry still found himself relying on Adam Campbell, the former Security Chief of Vault 76, and Ibrahim Nassar, one of Vault 76's best medical practitioners, for advice and support.

Campbell, despite the issues he still struggled with, had been put in charge of the Armory and was being tasked with maintaining their supplies, as Dr. Nassar believed serving as quartermaster would help Campbell work through his problems by giving him something external to focus on.

Dr. Nassar, on the other hand, had taken the initiative in establishing a field hospital in the parking lot outside with Dr. Kathryn Price, using tents and training the few volunteers they had in basic medical care. Last he had checked in with them, they were planning on setting up another tent for triage duty.

A few were on the roof, working with their chief scientist, Jack Foster, and his brother Steve in establishing hydroponics farms, focusing primarily on what little seeds they had left over from Vault 76; mainly lettuces, tomatoes, peppers, but there were also a mix of other things being grown as well, such as beans and radishes and spinach along with herbs like chives and basil. There were also plots in between the hydroponics tents filled with dirt they had carried from behind the Fire Department building, to grow things like corn, silt beans, and mutfruits. Every resource would be critical, after all.

The water supply, Harry was happy to report to everyone, would suit them for the time being. The Protectrons had managed to maintain a fully supply of the precious resource and with the water purifier he and his engineers had managed to cobble together, they were able to produce a steady supply of purified water.

Though, Harry would have to talk to Anthony once he was back about making a quick trip to Vault 76 and retrieving a Water Chip or two.

That would speed up the process much faster and ensure they would have all the purified water they could ever need. Speaking of Anthony, he wondered how his newly-minted leader and his crew were doing in Belching Betty. Of the forty-six that had survived so far, just over half of them had stepped up and volunteered to join the Fire Breathers. Twenty four candidates in all. The Protectrons had been buzzing with excitement at that, Harry chuckled as he remembered them being informed of how many volunteers they had now.

The training had taken a week to go through. Learning all the procedures, all the signs and signals they'd need to know. Thankfully, many of them were already similar to what Vault Dwellers would have had to learn in order to be made security guards.

The physical exam, on the other hand... The Protectrons had reported that it would be taking place in Charleston. That didn't sit well with the survivors and it took the better part of a day for two of their expert programmers Amanda Martin and Scott Coleman to reprogram the Protectrons and rewrite the Fire Breathers' own programming.

Instead of running through Charleston, they had established a new training course around the Rusty Pick after clearing it of the Super Mutants that had infested it, with only five of their own getting injured in the process.

It would have been worse, much worse, if Rodrigo Rodriguez hadn't been there.

The sharpshooter had managed to pick off most of the muties, while keeping the rest suppressed just enough to allow his fellow survivors to close in on them and flank the bastards. Harry peered out the window then, catching sight of the Hispanic sharpshooter supervising the construction from his position atop the building, his trusty rifle in his arms.

In any case, with the new training course set at the Rusty Pick, which had also been converted into an outpost and supply depot, the majority of the candidates had passed.

The final part, though... They had thought about reprogramming that test as well but Anthony had put his foot down. Instead, he had gone through the final exam with Martin and Coleman's help, redesigning the parameters of the test to be as thorough as possible without being far too difficult. A quick survey at the mine had revealed the remains of the last few candidates and some preliminary investigation had turned up that the final exam had been considered too difficult by some of the original Fire Breathers.

Still, Harry couldn't imagine it being too hard for the likes of Alex Caruso, Michael Sorrentino, Anna Davenport, William Bryant, and Elizabeth Moore, nor for the man leading all of them, Anthony J. Barrett. Those six, he knew... Everyone knew... Were the best of them all, the toughest they had to offer.

It wasn't until night began to fall that Harry heard excited chattering outside, sat up from his desk and made his way out to see what was going on. A crowd had already gathered just up ahead. Moving through the rear of the building, just past the defunct water fountain, Lieutenant Reinhardt soon came face to face with his superior.

"Captain," Harry grinned, happy to see every one of them back, looking banged up but still alive and kicking. "I take it you all passed?"

"Flying colors, Harry." Anthony chuckled. He looked around then, then back at Harry. "Listen, can you get the team leaders together? It's been three days now, I want to see where we're at now."

Lieutenant Reinhardt nodded, "Absolutely. Decontamination is up and running, so report there first. We'll be waiting in the meeting room."

The better part of an hour passed before Anthony opened the door and showed himself.

It had originally housed the Fire Breathers' master terminal along with a huge mess. During the clean-up, the programmers had relocated the terminal to a corner while everyone else had fixed the room up. It hadn't taken long for Anthony and Harry to claim the room as their conference center where they'd hold debriefings and hand out the jobs.

Anthony looked around the room quickly, noticing that everyone had indeed come. Behind him walked in the rest of the new Fire Breathers, the men and women that had taken the final test with him.

"All right," Anthony began as he seated himself at the head of the table, while his crew went over to one side of the room, leaning against the wall. "Harry?"

Lieutenant Reinhardt slid over a report he had complied while waiting for his superior. "In the last three days, things have stabilized somewhat. We're presently split into four groups for the time being. Campbell," Harry gestured toward the former security chief," suggested the idea of establishing departments to to compartmentalize the process, keep things simple."

The Captain went through the report quickly. "Smart idea. Was thinking of doing the same thing but you all beat me to it, so that saves us a bit of time. Got names for your departments yet?"

Harry shook his head. "Not yet, no. We wanted to run it by you first."

Anthony nodded. "All right, first things first... Reinhardt, you're already our Chief Engineer, so you're sticking with that for now. I'm thinking Department of Engineering?"

His Lieutenant hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Actually, Captain... I've got mechanics and programmers on the team, and we've been dealing with a lot of things beyond what, uh, engineers deal with. We've been making repairs to the automations around the station and bringing as much of the terminals back online, so... I was thinking, Department of Technology?"

"Sounds good," Anthony conceded him the point and scribbled down the name. He looked at Dr. Kathryn Price next. "You'll be our Chief Medical Officer, all right? You were one of the chief doctors in Vault 76, anyway." Dr. Price nodded in agreement. "Name of your team?"

The doctor cleared her throat. "Department of Medical Services."

Anthony scribbled down the second name, then looked over at the other doctor in the room, Dr. Jack Foster.

But Jack beat him to the punch then, smiling as he spoke. "Chief Scientific Officer, obviously. And as seeing as we're focusing primarily on applied science... That is, applying our existing scientific knowledge to produce practical results to benefit us, whenever it's in improving existing technology or improving overall efficiency... I'll be heading the Department of Research and Development."

The Captain chuckled. "I see you still like to hear yourself talk, as usual." Jack simply smiled back, not really arguing against that. He did like hearing himself speak.

Anthony looked over at Adam Campbell after scribbling down the third name. "And you, Chief of Operations?"

Campbell looked up at his superior then, at the man that had used to be one of his own security guards back in Vault 76. He remember the day he had met Anthony Barrett, who had been assigned to Security by the Overseer herself. He hadn't thought the kid would last long and so he rode him hard, gave him the worst jobs, the most dull patrols... And despite all of that, Barrett had come through time and again, reporting for every duty on time and never leaving even a minute early. It hadn't taken long for Barrett to hit it off with the rest of the security guards as he was always finding the kid hanging out with them, playing pool or throwing darts.

He really couldn't think of very many people that could have done a better job keeping everyone here alive. Adam knew he was definitely nowhere near that list at all either, not after Morgantown. "Department of Requisitions. We'll do everything we can to keep everything running, kid."

Anthony smiled then, genuinely happy to see the old man still hanging in there, still working alongside them.

He scribbled down the last name then. "Good. I'll want a list of people you've got working in your respective departments later, people." He stood up then, gestured toward the Fire Breathers that had taken the exam with him. "Here's what's happening on our end. The six of us have passed the final exam, obviously. How many candidates do we have waiting to take the exam?" He asked, looking at Harry.

Lieutenant Reinhardt looked through his notes quickly. "We have... Eighteen candidates so far. Every single one of them has passed the first test, and the last of them finished the physical exam two days ago."

Anthony went over the numbers in his head. He nodded, "All right, we're going to split up the candidates into teams of their own. The final exam, though... It's still pretty damn rough, I'm not gonna lie. The six of us went in together, figured that'd give us an edge, considering we didn't know what to expect. This time around, we'll be continuing what the Fire Breathers had going back then, four people to a squad."

Campbell looked up at the Captain then. "That's only four and half a squad then. How that's going to work?"

Anthony smiled. "Six squads, Campbell. The six of us here will be squad leaders." Campbell nodded then, satisfied with the answer. Anthony gestured toward the Fire Breathers then. "I'll be leading Alpha Squad. Caruso will be leading Bravo Squad. Sorrentino, Charlie Squad. Davenport, Delta Squad. Bryant, Echo Squad. And Moore, Foxtrot Squad."

The five of them nodded, accepting their assignments from Captain Barrett. He went on, "Everyone, talk to the candidates. Put together your squads. Train them and go over the procedures. Get them ready to kick ass and take names." Anthony looked at every one of them then, giving each man and woman a moment of attention. "You'll be taking your squad through Belching Betty. We'll start after this weekend, one squad a day."

He was about to conclude the meeting when he stopped himself. "And one more thing, all five of you. I'm promoting all of you to the rank of Sergeant." The Fire Breathers grinned in return, happy with their promotions and the chance to lead a squad, to really do something to help rebuild their new organization, to help Barrett with his plan to retake Appalachia.

"Now, get the hell out of my sight!" Anthony grinned as he adjourned the meeting, everyone chuckling and standing up, making their way out of the room and to carry out their duties.

Everyone except for Harry.

"I would have thought you'd be promoting Caruso to Lieutenant at least." The Chief Engineer said, finally.

Anthony chuckled. "Why would I do that?"

Harry stared at his superior, waiting until the younger man was looking at him. "Because you need a second in command, and at this point, I'm the only lieutenant you've got here."

"Which makes you my second in command, I'd say." The Captain smiled.

"I appreciate the vote of confidence, sir..." He ran a hand through his brown hair then, sighing. "But we both know I'm no soldier. No security guard either. I'm just an engineer, Tony." He hadn't really expected his position to be permanent. No, he had thought that while Anthony was relying on him to keep everything together, hold down the fort while the Captain was out and about, it would have been smarter to have another Fire Breather as the second in command, someone to build on his legacy if anything ever happened to him. And all this, he said to Anthony.

The Captain just chuckled. "There's a certain truth to that line of thinking, I'll give you that, Harry. But, you know what? I'm just a security guard. Protecting people, keeping them safe, tackling the dangers before they endanger others, that's what I did. That's what I do now. It's what I excel at. As you put it, I'm a soldier, and this is my war to fight." He smiled then, pointing at Harry. "You on the other hand... You're an engineer. By that very definition, you're a builder. And that's what we were meant to do, that was the job Vault Tec gave us, the job our Overseer is depending on us for. To rebuild America. Build a better world than the one that destroyed itself."

Harry couldn't argue with that reasoning. Not when he had heard it from the Overseer herself as well. Everything he had done since leaving Vault 76, it had all been to help rebuild. And he was beginning to see what Tony was getting at now. The Fire Breathers would be fighting to reclaim Appalachia, but it would be up to men and women like him to make it worth every drop of sweat and blood.

Anthony looked down then, returning his attention back to the report in his hand. Looking over some of the candidates he had in mind for his own squad. "And that's why you're my second in command, Harry. I'm going to take Appalachia back from these bastards, and you're going to rebuild her. For the Overseer and for everyone else still alive, for everyone we've lost, for everyone who died before Reclamation Day. Together, we're going to reclaim Appalachia."

At that, Harry finally smiled. "You got it, boss."

* * *

 **Current Population: 46 Survivors**

* * *

 **Author's Note:** _Okay, first things first, I'm just having a tiny bit of a problem with the next chapter for **BRAVE NEW WORLD** but I'm nearly through it, so that should be up sometimes this week, no worries._

 _Second of all, I was honestly not planning on updating this story already so soon but between the few reviews I got and **Paladin Bailey** having yet to check my private message to him, I decided to update this story as well. Mostly because I've just gotten through putting together a rough outline for **THIN RED LINE** , put together profiles for every single survivor in the story so far._

 _Yeah, that's right. 46 names. 46 dates of birth. 46 hometowns, hair colors, details, the works. Just in case I freakin' need it. Probably won't, but better safe than sorry. This is gonna bite me in the ass later though, once more survivors start showing up and joining the Fire Breathers._

 _Oy vey._

 _On to the reviews!_

 _ **Paladin Bailey** \- Seriously, send me the link for the discord. XD I'm bored playing on my own!_

 _ **Angry lil' elf** \- That does sound like an interesting idea, I'd like to hear more about it. :) Just PM me or something, and we'll talk about your story idea. Glad you're enjoying my story, though!_

 _ **Mnemah** \- I was honestly expecting to see a few stories on Fallout 76 pop up, even during the B.E.T.A days. Seeing none was something of a disappointment. And a few days into the official release, there was still nothing. So I figured, might as well write one myself, plus I wanted the dubious honor of being the first to write a fan fic for Fallout 76 on this site. :P Dubious, right? Duuuuubious. Glad you're enjoying the story so far, and even more glad you're enjoying my writing style! I'm definitely no native myself, so if I ever screw up on something, please do point it out so I can properly fix it. I'd really hate to not do West Virginia justice!_

 _ **Engineer455** \- We've already spoken about this in private messaging, so there's not much more to say on the subject. Glad to have you reading, though!_

 _And to everyone else who's already read and fave'd and is currently following the story, my thanks for putting in the time! :)_


	3. Lost and Found

**Disclaimer:** This story is written using the setting and the characters of Bethesada's Fallout franchise, and as such, they all belong to Bethesada. Original characters, fictional locations, and such are all entirely made up and any resemblance to other people/places is purely coincidental. If you find a reason to sue me, proceed. Just be warned, I'm virtually penniless and have a cute little puppy that relies on me for food and a warm place to sleep. A puppy, people. Don't be cruel.

 **Chapter Three - Lost and Found**

 **A Story set in Fallout 76**

* * *

" _Nothing is built on stone; all is built on sand, but we must build as if sand were stone."_

 _Jorge Luis Borges, Argentine Writer_

" _The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions but by iron and blood."_

 _Otto von Bismarck, Prussian Statesman_

* * *

Sighing as he ran a hand through his dark brown hair, Harry went over the reports in his other hand and considered what to do with the situation.

It had been a month since the meeting with Captain Barrett, the department heads, and the squad leaders. Many things had happened since then, and not all of it was entirely bad. At the very least, the hydroponic farms were beginning to produce the fruits of their labors, and it wouldn't be much longer before they could switch over to eating fresh food instead of continuing to deplete their rations. Though, it was becoming clear that they would have to set up more hydroponic farms soon or later...

With their situation stabilized over the last few weeks, they had managed to put in some legwork and scout the surrounding areas, along with two of the Fire Breathers squads making trips into the Ash Heap to keep an eye on Scorched movements. Their scouts, or at least those who had volunteered to make trips and check out other locations, returned with some good news of their own.

A bunch of survivors had moved into the AVR Medical Center nearby, along with another group setting up camp at the Poseidon Energy Plant, and there was supposed to be yet another band of survivors holed up at Camp McClintock.

For the time being, the survivors at Poseidon and McClintock would have to take care of themselves, but judging from the scouts' reports, it looked as if they weren't in too much trouble.

The people over at AVR Medical Center, though... Echo Squad and Foxtrot Squad had been deployed there to assist in the defense once the Scorched tried swarming the facility. Once the small horde of the Scorched had been put down and the facility made secure again, Dr. Nassar had been sent along to check in with the survivors while Echo Squad set up an outpost nearby in order to establish a defensive perimeter and secure the road back to the Charleston Fire Department. Hopefully, Dr. Nassar would be able to convince them the necessity of joining up with the Fire Breathers.

Foxtrot Squad, on the other hand, had been redeployed back to the Rusty Pick, the site of their new physical course, with orders to maintain the outpost there and remain vigilant against any Scorched from the south.

A necessity, Harry knew, given that Bravo Squad would be in Welch by now and Charlie Squad in Lewisburg, both teams with orders to remap the Ash Heap and gather intelligence on the Scorched as well as keep an eye out for what the Captain had referred to as the 'three S's'; that is, survivors, supplies, and science. Survivors and supplies, they understood intuitively. Science, on the other hand, Barrett had to explain that bit. The Captain, clearly on advice from Dr. Foster, had made it an imperative to recover any scientific equipment or knowledge that would benefit them in the long run.

"Science is what's gonna give us an edge against these Scorched bastards," or so Captain Barrett had summed up.

Meanwhile, Delta Squad had just secured the Riverside Manor a week ago, formerly the headquarters of the Order of Mysteries. The squad was currently fortifying their defenses there while some of Harry's own people from the Department of Engineering had gone over there to look into the computer mainframe they had found there. Science, after all.

Alpha Squad, under Captain Barrett's command, was still operating in Charleston. The last report he had gotten from them, the Captain had cleaned out the Capitol Building of the Scorched and Alpha Squad had set up base in the courthouse there with the intent to combat the Super Mutants up near Wade Airport.

All things considered, their current situation wasn't too bad.

Their food stockpiles, given their present state of consumption, would last them another three months. The water supply was still holding up well enough, even better now that a second purifier had been established to help in the production of more purified water. They were beginning to run short on ammunition but they had managed to stave off the dangers of running out of bullets and shells by recovering some of their caches.

The only real problem right now was, to put it as simply as possible, the lack of manpower. While half of the survivors under Captain Barrett's command were now Fire Breathers, the remainder had been assigned to the four departments that had been established to help the Fire Breathers operate. At the present, the Department of Medical Services operated with seven people, the Department of Technology with six people, the Department of Requisitions with seven people as well, while the Department of Research and Development only had three people.

The chief engineer jumped as he heard the crackle of the ham radio. Quickly, Harry got up from his seat and dashed over to the desk, sitting down and pulling up the transreceiver. He tuned through the frequencies until he found the one he was looking for, the frequency assigned to Echo Squad.

"-spond. This is Echo Squad, calling HQ. Please respond," came the voice over the amateur radio. Harry grinned then, knowing that would be William Bryant, Echo Squad's commanding officer.

"Echo Squad, this is HQ. We are receiving you. Go ahead, over." answered the Lieutenant.

"Roger, HQ. I've got Dr. Nassar here with a message. Over."

Harry opened a drawer then, pulling out a notepad and a pencil, in case he would have to scribble down information. "Roger that, Echo."

It was a moment before Dr. Nassar answered. "HQ, Nassar here."

"Receiving you, Nassar. What's the situation over there at AVR Medical?"

"Precarious, to say in the least. We've got nine survivors over here. But I got some good news... It's Frank, Harry. Frank Harper." There was an audible chuckle and Harry grinned as well. Thank God for that, at least. Frank was by far one of the finest mechanics Harry had ever met. A genius, really. The man had a gift for making anything work again, especially if it involved improvising and jury-rigging something.

"Roger that. Glad to hear it, doc. Who has he got with him? Over."

Dr. Nassar went on. "His wife, Mary Harper, though she's injured, and their daughter. The Millers, plus Mark Sanders, Evelyn Turner, Peter Perez, and Dave Suderman. They had three more but they died not too long ago. There's something else, though."

After a pause, the chief engineer answered. "What's that? Over."

"It's about Dr. Price. Cameron Price, I mean. Kathryn's husband." The voice continued, coming in clear over the ham radio. "He was with them up until a week ago, until they got split up by those big mutant bastards, the green ones."

"Was he caught by them?" Harry asked then, dreading the answer.

"That's a negative. The bastards chased Frank and his group clear through Charleston but they got ambushed by those feral ghouls. Dr. Price got cornered and had to split. He was last seen heading for th-" The radio suddenly crackled then, with only static coming through."

"Nassar? Say again. I repeat, say again. Nassar? Echo?" Harry swore then, slamming his fist on the desk then. "Goddamn it."

Dr. Nassar sighed. "I'm just getting static now." The Israeli doctor looked up at William then. "I'm going to have to get Frank to take another look at the antenna."

William nodded. "Good idea. In the meantime, we'll go check out the Trainyard, see if we can pick up Dr. Price's trail."

The doctor smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that. I know Kathryn has been worried sick for her husband... And to be honest, we could really use his skills. He's one of the best surgeon I've ever worked with. If we're going to have a future here, we need his capable hands."

Sergeant Bryant chuckled as he hefted up his automatic combat rifle, moving away from the small space where they had set up the radio. "I'll make sure you get his hands back then."

"I'd like the REST of him back too!" Dr. Nassar shouted after him.

Will grinned in response. "Not a problem. Now get your ass back to AVR Medical. This place won't be safe once we're gone." He stepped through the broken wall, into the beauty salon where they had established their camp for the time being. The rest of his squad was already gathered. "We've got a job to do, boys and girls."

James Bianchi stood up then, picking up his pump shotgun from a nearby counter. Amy Thompson, the squad's medic and their best marksman by far, got off the chair she had been sitting in. And Jack Sullivan, the man he trusted more than anyone else, the man who had his back since they left Vault 76, stepped into the beauty salon from outside, finishing up what was left of his cigar.

"We got a lead on Doctor Cameron Price, who happens to be Kathryn's husband AND a real fucking good surgeon, so we're going to see if we can track him down and bring him back." He gestured to the west then, "He was last seen heading for the Trainyard, so we'll start there."

Within twenty minutes, Echo Squad got their gear together, restocked on clips and rounds, packed enough food for a day and three liters of water. Then they left the salon.

The squad worked its way down, Bianchi taking up point and Sullivan as rear guard, with Bryant and Thompson in between. Only two feral ghouls reared their ugly heads before the Trainyard came into view. Bryant called for his squad to halt then, before gesturing toward a metal tower about forty feet tall. "Thompson, climb that thing. You'll be providing support."

"Yes sir!" Thompson ran off then, scaling the railing in one deft jump before dropping her backpack at the base of the tower. She strapped her rifle onto her shoulder before beginning the climb up, stopping at about thirty feet up. They watched as she pulled out some harnesses and began clipping herself to the tower, the better to secure herself.

Once he saw her give him the thumb up, Bryant motioned for Bianchi and Sullivan to follow along.

The three of them made their way down the stairs then onto the muck and trash that literally covered the entire ground before them, the residual aftermath of the Christmas Flood that had wrecked Charleston. Bianchi grunted in disgust as he stepped into the filth. Two minutes later, they were moving along the side of the building, listening carefully as they went.

All they could hear was the distinct clinking of robots... and Chinese.

"Liberators." Bianchi looked back at his superior then.

William nodded in response. "Sullivan, head down that way, see if there's a way you can flank them. "

The surly man nodded once and took off then, carrying a riot shield and a heavy sledgehammer he had modified himself, moving as quietly as possible. He stopped on the corner then, peered around said corner, then looked back at them, signaling in return. Bryant turned to Bianchi then. "We'll go in hard and fast, get them to focus on us. Once they're distracted, they'll get flanked. Don't get your ass shot up, Bianchi."

"Yes sir." The man grinned. "Ain't planning on it."

The two of them pushed in then, opening fire on the Liberators who quickly swarmed on them once they absorbed the shock. In an instant, the nearest Liberator was blasted once it got in front of Bianchi, while Bryant rained down a hail of bullets on the rest of them, sending the little bots scrambling for cover. They were certainly smart little bastards but they were still predictable and much too vulnerable from behind. A fact Jack Sullivan was all too happy to demonstrate, his heavy sledgehammer slamming down on them one after the other. Between the man's incredible physical strength and his forte in melee combat, he wouldn't have been out of place in another time long ago, storming a medieval castle or clashing with another knight.

Within minutes, the last of the Liberators were wrecked. James Bianchi was holding up one of them, poking through the wrecked shell. Jack quickly bandaged up his arm, where he had taken a laser burn. Bryant looked around then, moving through the room as he replaced the clip to his combat rifle.

No signs of the doctor.

They heard a whistle then. "Sullivan, once you get that squared away, I want you to close that damn thing." He pointed toward the open entrance Sullivan had come in through, where a rolling door was just waiting to be brought down. "Bianchi, secure the stairs." The sergeant went outside then, catching sight of Thompson waving at him. She gestured toward the roof, signaling that she had spotted something. Bryant gave her an affirmative and went back inside, hearing the loud grinding of the rolling door moving down. He looked around the large room then. A smaller room tucked in the back with a weapon workbench in it. And up on the second floor, an armor workbench.

Bryant moved up the stairs then, taking a different one than Bianchi had, with Sullivan behind him. They found a small kitchen, some lockers, filing cabinets. Nothing major. He signaled Bianchi to continue to the roof from across the room.

From the roof, Bryant could see Bianchi coming into view again from the other side, and noticed Thompson still perched from her position on the tower. He gave her the all clear, knowing she would join them shortly. "Split up. Start looking for clues."

Sullivan and Bianchi began sweeping the area, searching for something, anything, that would give them a hint to the doctor's position.

Bryant climbed the nearest truck he could see, pulling himself onto the roof and looked around. It was actually a hell of a defensive position, he had to admit. With the giant doors down below sealed off, it wouldn't take much to chain up the rest of the doors, and then the only place they would really have to worry about was the small bridge that led from the roof to the street. There was even a radio dish tucked away in the corner.

Best part was, it was still close enough to AVR Medical that they could still provide support if needed, and there was very little they couldn't see. North and south, west and east, you could literally see anything coming from any direction, no obstructions at all. Hell, he could see Poseidon Energy Plant to the north.

Yeah. He could see it now...

A tent on one corner of the roof, to serve as their comm station. If Frank Harper could get that Mega Loader working again, they'd be able to clear the containers off the roof, set up some defensive barricades, maybe even establish a watchtower for a sharpshooter to man... And below, the building would house everything else they needed. Sleeping areas, the kitchen, a decent workshop. And they'd still have a great deal of space left over. Knowing the Captain, he knew Barrett would want to establish another supply depot here.

"Bryant!" Bianchi called out, gesturing for him to come.

The sergeant made his way off the truck and joined up with Bianchi and Sullivan. "What is it?"

"I heard something in there." He gestured toward the door, one that led to what looked like the Trainyard's lounge plus some offices. He could hear it then, a faint scuffle.

"Yeah. I hear it too..." He looked over then, saw Thompson coming over the bridge. Once she had joined up with them, the sergeant got onto a knee then. "All right, listen up. Bianchi, you're gonna cover the east stairway. Sullivan, you got the west stairway. Thompson, the bridge's yours." He placed his rifle onto the floor and pulled out a .44 revolver, checked whenever it was loaded or not. It was. "I'm going to clear out whatever in there."

They left to carry out their roles as Bryant held the revolver with both his hands. He stepped into the lounge, checked one side then the other. Nothing so far. There was a huge hole in the wall, though. ' _Nothing a good tarp can't handle_ ,' he decided.

With the lounge secure, Bryant moved into the hallway, noting there were three doors. The first one, he pushed open and checked out quickly. Nothing as well, just some file cabinets. The next room, though. He found a computer in there, along with a damn bicycle. "Health nut." Bryant scoffed as he read the note on the desk.

That left one more room. Probably just a radroach the Liberators missed.

He took a deep breath to steady himself, then kicked the door open. Moving inside, Bryant brought a flashlight up to combat the darkness, shining it straight into the back.

A face stared back at him. "You're late."

The sergeant screamed out in unholy terror. "Judas Priest! Judas fucking Priest!"

"I see we've got ourselves a good Catholic," Dr. Price snorted, lighting up a lantern on the desk beside him, brightening the room up considerably. It didn't take long for Sullivan and Bianchi to scramble into the room. "If you fine gentlemen were any later, I would have had contaminated my thus far pristine lungs with this." He held up a cigarette. "Thankfully, things didn't get quite that desperate."

Once Will calmed down his racing heart enough, he growled out of annoyance. "Dr. Price... You're a real bastard, as usual."

The doctor merely smiled. "Doubtful. My parentage isn't in doubt, unlike yours." He flicked the cigarette aside before standing up. "Trivialities aside, I'll need an escort to AVR Medical. I believe my group is already there and I should like to brighten up their day. No doubt they think I've given up the ghost."

"C'mon. Let's get you out of here." Bryant gestured for the doctor to come along. He introduced each member of Echo Squad to Dr. Price, then the five of them made their way back to AVR Medical.

The first floor of AVR Medical was more or less cleaned up, with the upper floors sealed off for now, by Frank and Peter Perez who happened to be a talented electrician.

The survivors had managed to hold on despite their numbers, mostly thanks to Mark Sanders and Evelyn Turner, both of whom had served as Security Guards in the Vault, though Dave Suderman did most of the heavy lifting. Mary made sure to keep their morale up, despite her injury, by keeping busy in the cafeteria.

And so, it was a momentous occasion when Dr. Price had walked through the facility's front doors, everyone catching sight of him and rushing over to celebrate his return.

Frank and Dr. Nassar approached Bryant and the rest of Echo Squad. "You did a fantastic job, Will." Dr. Nassar grinned as he shook the sergeant's hand.

Frank couldn't disagree and he made it clear. "Yup. I sure thought the fat lady was belting out a hell of a tune for the good doctor there, but... Y'all proved me wrong. Listen... Dr. Nassar here's been talking up this thing you and your people have got going, the Fire Breathers and all."

Bryant nodded. "Uh huh? Can we do something else for you?"

Frank chuckled. "I was thinking other way around, actually. This place's too big to hold, with how few people we've got here. And from what Dr. Nassar says, you have plenty of people, but too many things that needs doing."

"That's true, yeah." Bryant smiled, that was a nice way of putting it. He glanced at Dr. Nassar, then back to Frank. "If you and your people want to join, we'd love to bring you guys in. There's plenty of room back at the Fire Department, and like you said, there's plenty of things to do."

"Yeah," the older man nodded, "sounds good to me, friend. God knows there's too much to do and not enough time to do it all, but while I'm alive, I'm sure as hell going to make sure there's a whole less left to do."

Dr. Nassar smiled at the sentiment and Bryant chuckled. "Sounds good, Mr. Harper."

"Frank, please. Mr. Harper was what people called my father." He grinned at the two of them.

Will raised an eyebrow at the old man before looking around. Once he saw who he was looking for, he called out for her. "Hey, Alice! Come here, if you wouldn't mind?"

A young girl, looking to be either sixteen or seventeen, came up to them. "What's up?" Frank, on the other hand, was curious as to why the sergeant had called his daughter over.

"Just out of curiosity, what do people call your father?" The sergeant asked.

She gave the man a look that clearly said she thought he was being shady as hell now. "Uh, Mr. Harper, usually."

Will turned to Frank then, a huge grin on his face.

Frank groaned, though he couldn't stop himself from smiling. "Listen, why don't we let Dr. Price rest up for a bit, I'm sure he's had a rough time lately and the man looks like he's ready to sleep off the next ten years. Then we'll talk about relocating, yeah?"

Bryant grunted at that. "As far as I'm concerned, he can damn well sleep through the next few centuries... All right, I'm going to leave Bianchi here to help keep things stable here. Until then, we're going to be busy relocating our base to the Trainyard. If there's trouble, Bianchi will set off a flare, and we'll come running."

"Sounds good," Frank clapped the sergeant on the shoulder.

Dr. Nassar looked at the Fire Breather then. "Shouldn't we be trying to get in touch with Lieutenant Reinhardt?"

"No worries," Bryant smiled. "I'll get in touch with him myself. Found a radio dish over at the Trainyard, that'll boost the signal for our ham radio."

"Ah!" The doctor nodded. "You have things under control then."

Will chuckled. "Always."

Harry sighed, giving up on trying to fix the signal for the time being. It was clear that the problem wasn't on his end, so there wasn't much he could do about it other than hope that Echo Squad would be able to handle it.

If there wasn't any change soon, he felt tempted to order Foxtrot Squad to redeploy back to the area and check things out. It was likely completely unnecessary but given the overall situation between their own problems and the growing threat of the Scorched, losing some of their firepower right now would have been extremely bad.

The ham radio crackled then and Harry jumped at it, grabbing the receiver. "Come in! This is HQ. Do you receive, Echo Squad? Over."

"We are receiving you, but I hate to tell you this... This ain't Echo Squad, Lieutenant," came the response. "Over."

Harry knew that attitude, he knew it well. "Caruso. What's the situation on your end, Bravo Squad? Over."

"We're in a bit of a tight situation here, actually. Looks more like a clusterfuck, actually. There's a goddamn heavy Scorched presence here, over."

He silently cursed then. Of course there would be plenty of them, especially that far south. "Your location? Over."

"Welch. Southwestern end. We tried retreating back the way we came but Scorched have got that route tightly shut down. Looking over the map I've got, I'm thinking about heading a bit further south, follow the road east until it converges back onto the original route, see if we can get behind them before they figure out what we're up to. Over."

Harry nodded. It was a sensible plan. "Acknowledged. Charlie and Delta will be standing by, in case you need assistance, Bravo." He would have to get in touch with Alpha as well, make sure the Captain didn't extend too far north now that any potential support he might have would be vastly reduced. "Report in when you can, over."

"Roger that, HQ. Bravo out." The ham radio went silent then, but Harry was already tuning in to another frequency.

"Charlie Squad, do you receive. This is HQ. Over." He could only hope someone on Sorrentino's squad would get back to him quickly. If there wasn't any response within a minute, he'd check in on Delta next. They would be answering him quickly, he knew. The problem was trying to get ahold of a squad that was already putting in field work.

Hell, if it came down to it, he'd send in Foxtrot Squad if Charlie didn't get back to him.

His heart skipped a beat when he heard the radio crackle with a response in turn. "This is Charlie Squad, HQ. We are receiving, over." Harry gave a huge sigh of relief before composing himself.

"You've got new orders."

* * *

 **Current Population - 56 Survivors**

* * *

 **Author's Note:** _Yeah, it's been a while. Life got busy and all that. A lot of things happened and my writing had to be suspended for a while so I could deal with everything that was happening. I haven't even had a chance to play Fallout 76 either... Which is probably a blessing in disguise because I hear it's a lot better now, so I'm looking forward to checking that out. Anyhow, I apologize for the long wait, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, it's been waiting on my Google Drive for a while now, just dying to get uploaded._

 _Anyway, no definite plans or scheduling for the time being. I'm gonna try to be as regular as I can, post when I have something finished, and we'll see where we go from there._

 _I'm already working on the next chapter for_ _ **THIN RED LINE**_ _, where things should be getting pretty exciting for Bravo Squad, especially toward the end where there's going to be a major development for the story, then one more chapter after that to introduce the new Brotherhood of Steel based in Appalachia, so there'll be... plenty of friction between the two factions and their leaders._

 _After that, I'm going to try and tackle the next chapter for_

 _ **BRAVE NEW WORLD**_ _, which probably will entail yet another rewrite because I'm just still not satisfied with it. If that fails, I'm just gonna go at it from another perspective instead. I'm also considering recruiting someone among you fine folk to... help me by letting me bounce ideas off you, be my sounding board or something like that. There's a lot of crap going on in my head and I probably could use someone's help to me shift through it._

 _Hmm. It's probably more of an editor job than anything, maybe? I dunno. Doesn't really matter. If this is something that may interest you, just let me know in a review and if I do end up needing someone to fill the position, I'll get in touch. :) Two things to keep in mind, this kind of job will be for both_

 _ **THIN RED LINE**_ _and_ _ **BRAVE NEW WORLD**_ _, possibly as well as any one-shots I do for these two stories in the future, and we'll probably be chatting through Discord so if you don't have that, you may want to either pass or get Discord, I dunno. Whichever you prefer._

 _As always, my eternal gratitude for reading my humble works and yet another apology for taking so goddamn long. I'm kicking myself here, honestly._


End file.
